The Almoravid Koubba (or Koubba Ba'adiyin/Barudiyin) is a small monument in Marrakech, Morocco. Dating to the 12th century, it was erected by the Almoravid dynasty.
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign state located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Morocco claims the areas of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, all of them under Spanish jurisdiction. The capital is Rabat and the largest city Casablanca. Morocco spans an area of 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi) and has a population of over 35 million.
The Almoravid dynasty was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Founded by Abdallah ibn Yasin, the Almoravid capital was Marrakesh, a city the ruling house founded in 1062. The dynasty originated among the Lamtuna and the Gudala, nomadic Berber tribes of the Sahara, traversing the territory between the Draa, the Niger, and the Senegal rivers.
The Almoravid Koubba is situated next to the Marrakech Museum, and around 40 meters south of the mosque of Ben Youssef. It is the only surviving example of Almoravid architecture in Marrakesh. The edifice was built in 1117, and was later renovated in the sixteenth and nineteenth century. It was rediscovered in 1948 and excavated in 1952, after having been buried beneath one of the outbuildings of the Ben Youssef Mosque. The dome was once used for ablutions before prayer (relying on the revolutionary hydraulics of khettaras, drainage systems), and also had a system of toilets, showers, and faucets for drinking water. It belonged to an Almoravid mosque, now long gone. The dome is on top of a rectangular bassin. The interior is richly decorated with floral patterns (pine cones, palms and acanthus leaves) and calligraphy. The epigraphic decoration, which covers the frames and borders, is noteworthy for the fact that the foundation inscription is the oldest inscription in cursive Maghrebi script in North Africa. Materials used are marble and cedar wood. At the entrance and at the top of the prayer room is the inscription:
The Museum of Marrakech is an art museum located in the old center of Marrakesh, Morocco.
The Ben Youssef Mosque, is a mosque in the Medina quarter of Marrakesh, Morocco, named after the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf. It is arguably the oldest and most important mosque in Marrakesh.
Moorish architecture is the articulated Islamic architecture of North Africa and parts of Spain and Portugal, where the Moors were dominant between 711 and 1492. The best surviving examples in Iberia are La Mezquita in Córdoba and the Alhambra palace in Granada, as well as the Giralda in Seville (1184). Other notable examples in Iberia include the ruined palace city of Medina Azahara (936–1010), the church San Cristo de la Luz in Toledo, the Aljafería in Saragossa and baths at for example Ronda and Alhama de Granada.
I was created for science and prayer, by the prince of the believers, descendant of the prophet, Abdallah, most glorious of all Caliphs. Pray for him when you enter the door, so that you may fulfill your highest hopes.
The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, from whom the dynasty takes its name. They ruled as caliphs for most of the caliphate from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after having overthrown the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 AH).
Ali ibn Yusuf was the 5th Almoravid king. He reigned from 1106–1143.
Sources
Hoag, John, Islamic Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 47-49, 1987.
Terasse, H., "L'Art de l'empire Almoravide, ses sources et son évolution", Studia Islamica, III, 1955.
Deverdun, G., Marrakech, des origines à 1912, Rabat, 1959, p.105.
Deverdun, G., Inscriptions arabes de Marrakech, Rabat, 1956, pp.26–30.
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
Marrakesh is a major city of the Kingdom of Morocco. It is the fourth largest city in the country, after Casablanca, Fez and Tangier. It is the capital city of the mid-southwestern region of Marrakesh-Safi. Located to the north of the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, Marrakesh is situated 580 km (360 mi) southwest of Tangier, 327 km (203 mi) southwest of the Moroccan capital of Rabat, 239 km (149 mi) south of Casablanca, and 246 km (153 mi) northeast of Agadir.
The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially completed in 691–92 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna on the site of the Second Jewish Temple, destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. The Dome of the Rock is in its core one of the oldest extant works of Islamic architecture.
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. Early Islamic architecture was influenced by Roman, Byzantine, Persian, Mesopotamian and all other lands which the Muslims conquered in the 7th and 8th centuries. Further east, it was also influenced by Chinese and Indian architecture as Islam spread to Southeast Asia. Later it developed distinct characteristics in the form of buildings, and the decoration of surfaces with Islamic calligraphy and geometric and interlace patterned ornament. The principal Islamic architectural types for large or public buildings are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for other buildings such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.
Jemaa el-Fnaa is a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter. It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists.
The Ben Youssef Madrasa is an Islamic college in Marrakesh, Morocco. Functioning today as an Islamic historical site, the Ben Youssef Madrasa was the largest Islamic college in Morocco during its height. Named after the Almoravid Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf, who expanded the city of Marrakesh and its influence considerably, the madrasa that stands today was built during the rule of Sa'di Sultan Sidi Abdallah al-Ghalib in the Marinid style. The layout of the building centers around a main courtyard, which is surrounded by east and west open-air galleries and student dormitories on the upper and lower levels. Like many Islamic buildings, the courtyard is defined by a large shallow reflective pool and intricate ornamentation of various materials, meant to enhance the multi-sensory experience of the building.
Moroccan architecture dates from 110 BCE with the massive pisé buildings. The architecture has been influenced by Islamization during the Idrisid dynasty, Moorish exiles from Spain.
The Koutoubia Mosque or Kutubiyya Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. The mosque's name is also variably rendered as Jami' al-Kutubiyah, Kutubiya Mosque, Kutubiyyin Mosque, and Mosque of the Booksellers. It is located in the southwest medina quarter of Marrakesh, near the famous public place of Jemaa el-Fna. The mosque is ornamented with curved windows, a band of ceramic inlay, pointed merlons, and decorative arches; it has a large plaza with gardens, and is floodlit at night. The minaret tower, 77 metres (253 ft) in height, includes a spire and orbs. It was completed under the reign of the Berber Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur, and inspired other buildings such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat, which were built in the same period. The mosque's minaret is considered an important landmark of Marrakesh.
Hassan Tower or Tour Hassan is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat, Morocco. Commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the third Caliph of the Almohad Caliphate in 1195, the tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world along with the mosque, also intended to be the world's largest. When al-Mansur died in 1199, construction on the mosque stopped. The tower reached 44 m (140 ft), about half of its intended 86 m (260 ft) height. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 348 columns being constructed. The tower, made of red sandstone, along with the remains of the mosque and the modern Mausoleum of Mohammed V, forms an important historical and tourist complex in Rabat.
The Chellah or Shalla, is a medieval fortified Muslim necropolis located in the metro area of Rabat, Morocco, on the south (left) side of the Bou Regreg estuary. The Phoenicians established a trading emporium at the site. This was later the site of an ancient Roman colony in the province of Mauretania Tingitana.
Moroccan literature is literature written in Arabic, Hebrew, French, Amazigh languages, or Spanish, particularly by people of Morocco, but also of Al-Andalus.
The Green Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Mehmed I, is a part of a larger complex located on the east side of Bursa, Turkey, the former capital of the Ottoman Turks before they captured Constantinople in 1453. The complex consists of a mosque, türbe, madrasah, kitchen and bath. The name Green Mosque comes from its green and blue interior tile decorations.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan, also known as the Mosque of Uqba, is a mosque situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan, Tunisia.
The Jāmeh Mosque of Isfahān or Jāme' Mosque of Isfahān is the grand, congregational mosque (Jāmeh) of Isfahān city, within Isfahān Province, Iran. The mosque is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and renovations on the site from around 771 to the end of the 20th century. The Grand Bazaar of Isfahan can be found towards the southwest wing of the mosque. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012.
The Great Mosque of Algiers or “Djama’a al-Kebir” is a mosque in Algiers, Algeria, located very close to Algiers Harbor. An inscription on the minbar (منبر) or the pulpit testifies to fact that the mosque was built in 1097. It is also known by several other names such as Grand Mosque d'Alger, Djamaa al-Kebir, El Kebir Mosque and Jami Masjid. It is one of the few remaining examples of Almoravid architecture. It is the oldest mosque in Algiers and is said to be the oldest mosque in Algeria after Sidi Okba Mosque. It was built under sultan Ali ibn Yusuf. Its minaret dates from 1332 and was built by the Ziyyanid Sultan of Tlemcen. The gallery at the outside of the mosque was built in 1840. Its construction was a consequence of a complete reconstruction of the street by the French.
Notable landmarks of city of Marrakesh, Morocco.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Marrakesh, Morocco.
Great Mosque or the Great Mosque of Nedroma is a historic mosque in the city of Nedroma, about 77km from Tlemcen, Algeria. The mosque was founded in 1145 and contains the earliest surviving Almoravid minbar.
The Kasbah Mosque of Marrakech is a Friday Mosque originally built by the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansour in 1185-1190 CE. It is located in the old kasbah of Marrakech, the citadel or royal district. Along with the Koutoubia Mosque, it is one of the most important historical mosques in Marrakech.
The Ben Salah Mosque is a 14th-century Marinid mosque in the historic medina of Marrakesh, Morocco. It is the only major surviving Marinid-era monument in Marrakesh and is notable for its fine minaret.
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